Category Archives: travel

Ode to Rose Geranium Toner

Posted on by HollyBeth Anderson

I am in love with HollyBeth Organics’ Rose Geranium Toner. In fact, it is one of my all-time favorite skin care products, and I won’t leave home without it. Looking for a great-smelling body mist? Need a toner to sooth your skin? Want to keep your makeup in place all day long? How about a rehydrating midday pick-me-up? This product does it all! Oh, Rose Geranium Toner, how I love thee, let me count the ways.

Great-Smelling Body Mist

Rose and geranium combine to create a rich, rosy smell that will make anyone feel like royalty. Get blanketed in luxury with each spray of this beautifully fragrant body mist. Just imagine standing under a waterfall of rose petals!

Soothing Toner

Keep your skin in check with this Rose Geranium Toner’s antiseptic properties of rose geranium hydrosol, nourishing rose oil, and anti-inflammatory helichrysum. This sooth-all skin solution calms and heals with each spray.

Makeup Setting Spray

Tired of your makeup running off your face by the end of the day? The last step of your morning routine should be a few sprays of the Rose Geranium Toner to set everything in place to keep your face game going strong.

Midday Refresher

Been running around all day? Just got off of a long flight? You know that icky, weighed-down feeling your skin gets when you have been going non-stop? A few sprays of the Rose Geranium Toner will rehydrate your skin and refresh your senses with a much-needed pick-me-up.

Seriously, this toner has earned a spot of honor in my makeup bag. Reward your skin (and your senses!) with this ultimate jack of all trades.

HollyBeth’s Three Favorite Skin Care Products for Traveling

Posted on by HollyBeth Anderson

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Short-Sleeve Travel Weather is Around the Corner

When it’s a sunny, 60 degree day in February, you can’t help but long for short-sleeve shirt weather and spring road trips. Inspired by the surprise heat, HollyBeth and I couldn’t help but discuss our favorite places to travel to as we ate lunch today. Exotic beaches with white sand, classic cities home to great art and architecture, off-the-map locations promising fun and adventure, and familiar favorites full of good memories: we want to visit them all! Almost time to get those passports ready – and figure out what to pack.

Packing for a Trip

Ah, the process of packing for a trip. If you are anything like me, you want to pack your entire closet, because you may get the chance to break in those shoes you‘ve never worn, to wear that dress that has been begging for a night out, or use that cute rain jacket that just might come in handy – you see where I am going with this. Once the hypothetical outfit situations are covered, time to narrow down your toiletry bag.

With the skin care guru herself sitting next to me at lunch, I couldn’t resist asking her which HollyBeth Organics’ products are her favorite skin care products for traveling.

HollyBeth’s Must-Have Skin Care Products for Traveling

  1. Rose Geranium Toner – A few squirts of this flower-flavored beauty mist refreshes and rehydrates (and makes you smell good). An excellent pick-me-up when you have been traveling all day.
  2. Eye Cream – A HollyBeth Organics classic (the first product she created), this luxuriously silky cream keeps delicate skin hydrated and moisturized. The perfect eye refresher after a tiring day of adventures.
  3. Chamomile Foaming Cleanser – This gentle yet sudsy cleanser removes the day’s dirt and oil, leaving behind soothed, balanced skin. Great for all skin types, so everyone in your travel party can use it.

So now I know what I’m bringing with me on my next vacation!

Want to know what a professional makeup artist packs for a trip? Check out our Facebook page to see which HollyBeth Organics product Fiona Styles loves to travel with!

 

Happy Weekend – Let’s Go to Arabia Mountain

Posted on by HollyBeth Anderson

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It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon here in Atlanta. The sun is shining, the sky is clear, and rumor has it the temperature is going to reach 64 degrees today. What a delightful surprise for the last weekend in January, especially since there was snow on the ground only a week ago.

Arabia Mountain

Time to take advantage of this fortuitous break from the cold and head outside!  And a day like today is perfect for a trip to Arabia Mountain. About 25 minutes outside of downtown Atlanta, this rock mountain’s unique topography hosts beautiful plant life, water formations, and landscapes that make you feel like you’re on another planet. This little piece of outer space has both bike and hiking trails, perfect for a full day of outdoor fun (and dogs are welcome, too!).

Wash Away the Dirt

After a day of navigating rocks, water, and hiking trails, you may be feeling a little sweaty and grimy. For those of us who are acne prone or have sensitive skin, sweat and oil can lead to a rash or breakouts. Wash the dirt away with HollyBeth Organics’ Cleansing Oil. Made with camellia, avocado, and lavender oils, this natural cleanser is antiseptic and antioxidant rich, healing and soothing while hydrating the skin. Calm skin irritations and knock out bacteria while infusing your skin with moisture.

No matter what you get into this weekend, make sure to give your skin some much-needed rest and relaxation. Every part of us – including our skin! – needs some time to unwind and regroup.

Have a great weekend!

Winter All Over the World

Posted on by HollyBeth Anderson

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Atlanta, GA

Cold and rainy with a chance of snow.  A winter forecast that can scare any Atlantan straight into the grocery store, then hidden away at home until it passes. Work lets out early, kids stay home from school, and the streets are empty. The city shuts down while we enjoy a surprise day off.

Scandinavia                                           

Winter in Scandinavia is quite a different story. In the Northern half of the region, snow is on the ground from December to April, and winters are dark due to limited hours of sunlight. There is no hiding from the weather here, only embracing it! Snow is always on the forecast, so it is business as usual (thanks to multiple layers of warm clothing).

Macau

In Macau, the winter season tends to be mild and dry. The weather is cool and clear with very little rain, and temperatures tend to average in the 50s. There is no threat of snow in this sub-tropical climate; however, cold is cold, so warm clothing and cozy layers are a part of Macau’s winter season.

Canada

Now on to Canada, where snow is on the ground as early as October! Heavy snow, freezing rain, and bone-chilling temperatures are a part of everyday winter living. But there is no shutting down – outdoor sports and activities are in peak season for these born-and-raised snow dwellers.

Winter Skin Solutions

Snow or no snow, winter is a season of fluctuating cold temperatures and unpredictable days. Make sure to stay warm and protect your skin. Chilly winter days can strip your body of moisture, leaving dry, cracked skin that is more susceptible to germs and viruses. It is so important to have a good moisturizer and stay hydrated! HollyBeth Organics has a variety of nourishing skincare solutions perfect for thirsty winter skin.

Try our Citrus All Over Cream. This fan-favorite moisturizes, calms, and heals, quickly absorbing into the skin, keeping it hydrated and protected. Dry skin will be a thing of the past!

Have dry, patchy areas that need extra attention? Our Skin Therapy is the ultimate skin saver, packed with the healing powers of prickly pear, Vitamin E and camellia oils. Keep it in your purse to use throughout the day!

HollyBeth Organics has a solution for all of your skincare needs. Go to HollyBethOrganics.com or one of our online retailers to discover more of our 100% organic, luxury skincare products:

Canada: TheTruthBeautyCompany.com

Sweden: Mjukhud.se

 

Nepal

Posted on by HollyBeth Anderson

braceletnepal

And so it happened again. Another earthquake in the same beautiful ancient region shaken last month. Another reminder of the inherent power in the Earth. Forces working together for  countless epochs to bend, shape, twist, crack, push, lift and crumble. Forces we try to measure with little numbers — number of miles away from here, 7.3 on Richter Scale, property damage costs, casualty tallies, lives displaced, hearts broken.

Of course, attempts to quantify only further exemplify our innate human tendency toward definitive explanation. We crave understanding and demand answers. We need to predict and prevent, to gather facts and collect data, to blame or blaspheme. It is our nature to question Nature. Yet, Nepalese culture and tradition inherently honors those forces more than most. The people of Nepal practice Hinduism and Buddhism and respect ayurvedics, revering the human connection to and relationship with Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. Landlocked between the majestic Himalayans on one side and subtropical lowlands on the other, the country rests right on the edge of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, reverberating with extremes… perhaps a sacred peace emanates from that energy source, waving along with the characteristic colorful prayer flags that brighten the horizon. Perhaps we have much to learn from that energy… Teach us, Nepal.

Bless Nepal. Bless the Earth. Bless the forces of nature that link us together, even when things fall apart.

Śānti.

Riviera Reverie

Posted on by HollyBeth Anderson

photo courtesy of www.theyachthouse.com

July is often a daydreamy kind of month. Sometimes, especially in the South, when it’s so hot and humid that I can barely move, my thoughts tend to drift out the window to a faraway place. With Bastille Day arriving earlier this week, and from my days in the studio sniffing our Lavender Hand Cream, I’ve found myself drifting off to the French Riviera. Several years ago I took a trip to France and ended up in Eze, which is on the coast, not far from Nice. We visited an outpost of Fragonard, a French ‘parfumeur’ that is almost a century old.  As I remember it (and that’s all that matters, isn’t it? How we remember places we’ve seen, not how they actually are?) Eze was something out of a dream—all crumbly stone walls, blanketed in crawling vines and flowers. At the perfumery, we took a workshop on aromatherapy and learned about the process of making perfume. Do I remember anything specific that I learned that day? No, of course not. What I do remember is the lovely, smiling people, and the place that looked so old and crumbling, but that all my senses told me was very much alive and breathing.

Another old yet alive and breathing place, so very far from the French Riviera, is St. Simons, a barrier island of the coast of Georgia. My family has been making a yearly pilgrimage there for many decades now, and our next trip is next week. There is certainly not an historic perfumery on St. Simons, nor are there fields of lavender, but there are hanging curtains of Spanish moss, magnolia blooms, and warm, salty-spray air. It is a dreamy place in its own right, with its own soul.

Where are some of your dreamy places? What smells, flowers, or colors take you back to them?

bonne fete du 14 juillet

Posted on by HollyBeth Anderson

Today is Bastille Day, 14 juillet a pseudo sentimental day for me. France was a large part of my life for years and its influence remains with me to this day. I moved there from Mexico, not speaking a word of French so I spoke Spanish all the time as I had already been speaking Spanish daily for 3 years. Additionally, everyone erroneously thought I was Swedish so I suppose I liked the notion of not being the typical American in France. As proud as I am to be American, sometimes it was truly painful seeing tourists bombard Paris in August, when everyone else was gone. I have always thought that some American & French tourists are similar in that it appears the majority would like to find the same things at home as well as abroad. The Sorbonne le grande ecole is where I learned French and eventually worked for a running organization. My first marathon was run in France. Then I worked for the French government for a very long time, which was an enlightening experience to say the least. I was given the opportunity to exhibit a world premiere faience exhibit in the States with pieces that had never left France. I orchestrated a performance of Patrick Dupond who would later take over the ballet de l’Opera national de Paris among other firsts.  When I lived in France, 14 juillet was a glorious fete for all – le tour de France and fireworks at Versailles or le Tour Eiffel. So, mes amis bonne fête du 14 juillet!

french-revolution_painting

 

14 juillet

Roses and Mexico

Posted on by HollyBeth Anderson

My backyard is stunning… if I say so myself!! Like the backyard I had while living in Mexico.

I’ll never forget the first time I took my mother to South America and she was astounded that it was not at all like Mexico. This is one thing that has always amazed me. Latin America is so diverse and yet your average person with a US passport has no clue. Nor do they know what NAFTA and FTAA are. Saying that the southern cone of South America is like Mexico – is like saying I am from Bhutan: I am American by birth and Southern by the grace of God.

So… it is interesting that for example, while heading up Cartier the differences were like dynamite… anteojos instead of gafas – white gold in southern cone and yellow gold in nothern cone. Ecuadorians do not have a lot in common with fellow South Americans but ironically use some of the same argot as Mexicans.

So back to the subject: Mexico – Los Estados Unidos de Mexico is such a divine and glorious country. From Patzcuaro to San Juan del Rio – there are numerous indigeneous languages, flora and fauna that probably exceeds Colombia and Ecuador’s who are noted for quoting (as well as Costa Rica) the number of species of birds etc etc However, only Michoacan can claim the monarch butterflies that go there annually – just astounding.

SO, roses and Mexico – the photo of the rose in my backyard is beautiful – reminds me of living in Mexico – where love and family reign.